ONE CHILD ONE HOUSE - Blessings in a Backpack Calls on Neighborhoods to Help Hungry Kids

May 10, 2010 - PRLog -- What if your family could ensure one child had food for the weekend during the school year? What if with your neighbors you could take care of entire class? You can! Blessings in a Backpack is launching “One Child One House,” a campaign to help residents do just that.

Thousands of children in Lee County are going hungry and their futures are suffering as a result. Without proper nutrition over the weekend, students have difficulty paying attention, learning and attending school. Blessings in a Backpack is working to help decrease this number by providing food to children on Federal Free or Reduced Lunch programs over the weekend. The success of the program is proven by higher attendance, increased health and accelerated reading skills and positive behavior.

“Blessings in a Backpack is the most positive community supported program I’ve had the privilege of being involved with in my thirty-four years in education,” commented Tice Elementary Principal Jim Jackson. “We’ve seen marked improvement in attendance and academic achievement in the year and half that Tice has been a Blessings in a Backpack school.”

One Child One House is calling neighbors to band together and support the cause, one family at a time. It’s as easy as gathering the provided supplies from Blessings in a Backpack and talking to your neighbors. Participants get stickers denoting they are sponsoring a child, neighbor letters, donation cards & envelopes and more.

If each house in every neighborhood sponsors one child in need, we could eliminate child hunger in this community.

“We are so excited to launch this program. It’s an excellent way for every household in Southwest Florida to get involved,” commented Scott Fischer, Chairman of the local Blessings initiative. “It’s as easy as one family sponsoring one child. With continued community support we look forward to continuing to expand into other area schools.”

ABOUT BLESSINGS IN A BACKPACK
Blessings in a Backpack is a program designed to feed elementary school children who qualify for the federal free and reduced meal program and may not have any or enough food on the weekends. It was started by Stan Curtis in Kentucky and currently operates around the country. Through the program, eighty dollars feeds a child for an entire school year. All donations made locally  stay here and go directly to Tice Elementary or Edgewood Academy students and are tax deductible. For more information please call 239-690-4649 or visit www.blessingsinleeco.org or contact the local effort via mail at 5781 Lee Boulevard, Suite 208-239 Lehigh Acres, Florida 33971.